Bromley, Walter

BROMLEY, Walter, Capt.
b. ABT 1768
d. 8 May 1838 (aged 70)
Adelaide, SA
Found drowned in River Torrens

Another early [S.A.] teacher was Capt. Walter Bromley, who arrived in 1836. He collected 24 children at Kangaroo Island and had "no other alternative than to teach them under the shade of a large, beautiful currant tree," according to records. He was later appointed Protector of Aborigines, but was drowned in the River Torrens in May, 1838. 1936

Captain Walter Henry Bromley was among the passengers who stayed on Kangaroo Island .

The eldest son of Robert and Julie Bromley, Walter was baptised on 27 February 1775 and grew up in rural Lancashire. As a teenager he enlisted in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and saw action overseas in a number of conflicts including the West Indies, Denmark, Malta, Asia Minor, Nova Scotia, and the Iberian peninsula. He rose through the ranks from Quartermaster to Paymaster, retiring on half pay as Captain in 1811.

Walter had developed a taste for social activism and evangelical interests, fashionable among Army officers at that time. He was dismayed by the poverty, illiteracy and exploitation he had seen and after his retirement he returned to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He spent the next 12 years committed to the relief of the Halifax poor & improving education, and assisting the native Indian population in Eastern Canada. His major achievement was the establishment of the Royal Acadian School in Halifax in 1813. In a radical departure from the norm, this school was non-sectarian and aimed to attack illiteracy, encourage morality and promote industry. It also challenged existing notions of privilege and authority in society. Bromley also established a spinning & knitting works and worked to promote agricultural settlements for indigenous Canadians. This work exposed the British colonists' exploitation of natives, at the expense of the New England Co, an English missionary society, which won him few supporters. Disappointed with the results of his ventures he returned to England in 1825.

Walter Bromley married twice : the first in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1794. He was 19 at the time. His wife’s details are unknown, however there were at least two children. The eldest, Stephen, studied law in Nova Scotia, Canada. His second marriage, to Jane Ashton, was solemnised on 25 December 1831 in Boston, England, and their son, Walter jnr, was born in November 1832. Details about any other children and Jane’s fate, are unclear, but in July 1836 he embarked on the journey to South Australia on the Tam O’Shanter alone.

Despite disappointments in Canada, Captain Walter Bromley arrived in South Australia as a confirmed social reformer, humanitarian and educator. He brought with him about ’60 sets of excellent school lessons which Lady Byron had presented’. Asked to establish a school at Kingscote, Bromley assembled about 24 children (about half of whom were infants) and opened his ‘school’ under the shade of a large tree on 5 December 1836. By the time he left the Island 5 months later all except one child could either spell or read.

On 5 April 1837 Walter Bromley was appointed interim Protector of Aborigines. He closed the Kangaroo Island school May 19, 1837 and moved to Adelaide, living among the Aborigines and learning their language, part of the requirement of the office. Under instruction from Colonel Light, Bromley established the first Native Location, known as Bromley’s Camp, on part of what is now called Bonython Park. While the reasons are unclear, Walter Bromley lost this position to William Wyatt who was appointed to the job on 1 August 1837. An article in the SA Gazette & Colonial Register on 17 March 1838 indicates Bromley continued his involvement with local tribes, as it referred to him as a ‘Supervisor of the younger natives’ and called for his removal from the position, no matter that his current situation was ‘unfortunate’.

An article written some time later in The Southern Australian newspaper, felt Bromley had been treated unfairly and had done more for the Aboriginals than his successor William Wyatt. Much discussion on the requirements of the position and the suitability of the appointee followed. But this was too late for Bromley.

Captain Walter Bromley was found floating in a pool of water near his hut on May 7, 1838. The Coroner's report noted evidence suggesting he had accidentally fallen in while collecting water in his kettle. The SA Gazette & Colonial Register reported on 19 May 1838 that Captain Bromley had been unwell for several weeks and had been missing from his hut near the River Torrens for several days.

Captain Walter Bromley was buried on 8 May 1838 in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, North Terrace, aged ‘about 70years’

Unfortunately no image of Capt. Bromley appears to exist.

Pioneers Association Of South Australia 20 Nov 2021